The field of the present disclosure relates generally to aircraft assemblies and, more specifically, to decompression panels for use in aircraft assemblies.
At least some known aircraft include several openings defined between a passenger compartment and adjacent compartments of an aircraft cabin. Such known openings serve a dual purpose. During normal operation, the openings define an air flow path that enables conditioned air to be circulated through the aircraft cabin. During a decompression event, the openings allow large quantities of air to flow therethrough to facilitate equalizing the pressure within the aircraft cabin.
In at least some known aircraft, the openings are covered with several panels including a grille and/or louvers. At least one known method of installing the panels in the aircraft cabin includes shingling the panels together. However, such method does not provide positive retention between adjacent panels nor positive retention between panels and interfacing airplane components. Without positive retention, passengers may deflect panel surfaces to access areas behind the panel. Moreover, the panels may migrate during flight and expose gaps in the cabin.
Another method of installation includes coupling the panels to aircraft crease beams using clamping mechanisms that rotate or swing into place such that pads positioned against opposing sides of the crease beam hold the panel in place. However, such clamping mechanisms assume a uniform thickness of the crease beams, but crease beams actually have differing thicknesses. As such, the clamping force applied by the clamping mechanisms may vary throughout the cabin.